Expert: James Yee - 7/31/2011

Question
It was a matter of time...

James, i had purchased a 10 box of wide churchills back in feb. I have since smoked 6 with no issue but today when i picked up #7, i noticed a small pinsized hole. No doubt its a bettle hole. The other 3 look fine. No signs of infestation.
Here is my question. My humidor never exceeds 73degrees. Could this bettle have done this damage back before i purchased the box? Is it common that in a box of cigars that 1 is affected and the rest are ok?Like i said the rest look fine and i also examined all the cigars in my humidor and they look ok as well.
Can beetles travel from one box to another? What are our recommendations here?

Thanks for your help

Answer
Hi Thomas,

Yes, it is possible that the beetle hole occured before you bought the cigars but it's still best that you freeze the remaining cigars to kill off any other beetles that may be hidden inside your cigars.  Place your cigars in a Ziploc bag or tupperware container and let them sit in your freezer (not refrigerator) for about 3 days and this will kill all the tobacco beetles inside your cigars.

It's also very possible that one cigar is infected while the other cigars in the box are OK.  Not all cigars will have tobacco beetle eggs inside them.  What happens is that the tobacco beetle eggs are laid on the tobacco leaves before the cigars are even rolled (either out on the tobacco fields or before cigar production).  Normally the tobacco leaves are thoroughly inspected but sometimes factory workers will accidentally miss the egg(s) and roll the tobacco into cigars.  The eggs then sit dormant inside the cigar(s) until the temperature is high enough to begin incubation.  When the tobacco beetle hatches, it will chew its way out of the cigar.  

Not all cigars have tobacco beetle eggs so it's very possible that your other cigars are clean.  Just to be safe, you should still freeze your remaining cigars.

I hope this helps.  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James